The world is becoming progressively warmer, and according to researchers this is bad news for many insects, and not for the reasons you may think. More specifically, the warmer temperatures around the globe are causing many insects to experience reproductive problems. If insects become unable to reproduce then some serious long-term consequences could result.

The researchers conducting the study also observed that climate change results in reproductive problems in bugs from northern regions of the globe more so than bugs from southern regions. The negative consequences that warmer climates have on an insect’s reproductive system is a phenomenon that is not entirely understood by the experts, but they do know that juvenile spiders are at greater risk for reproductive problems since their slow crawl does not allow them to reach shelter as quickly as adult bugs, which obviously causes greater harm to young offspring. The team conducting the study is concerned about the clear possibility that these reproductive problems could affect all types of insects.

Would humans be able to survive if the vast majority of insects became extinct as a result of climate change?